NORTH AMERICAN'S LAST BOMBER

Air Classics, Apr 2005 by Hulett, George

The magnificent XB-70

The XB-70 is one of the icons of modern aviation, which is curious considering only two were built and they flew just 129 times. However, like the maiden it was named for, the Valkyrie awed those around it. Beautiful in form and almost unbelievable in function, the XB-70 would have been the ultimate incarnation of Curtis LeMay's vision of a strategic bomber. The 500,000-lb aircraft was capable of flying over 2000-mph at altitudes in excess of 70,000-ft - and doing it for hours at a time.

Fantastic as the Valkyrie appeared, it was not to be. The political and fiscal climate that existed during the 1960s strangled - then killed - the aircraft almost before it was born.

There were other reasons: Intercontinental ballistic missiles became feasible and were considered, perhaps incorrectly, to be a deterrent force that was less expensive to build and maintain.

The Soviet Union, the only real target for the bomber, was developing surface-to-air missiles and interceptors that might have been capable of defeating the aircraft. But ultimately, it was Robert McNamara and his whiz Kids who reduced the program to a pair of technology demonstrators and dismissed the manned bomber as a viable weapon, Valkyrie, North Americans Mach 3 Superbomber by Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony R. Landis (Specialty Press) is a beautifully printed tribute to a glorious airplane.

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